SZA On Her Five Grammy Award Nominations: ‘I’m So Overwhelmingly Grateful For This Strangeness’

If 2017 has been good to any upcoming artist, it’s SZA, whose impressive debut album CTRL is the gift that just keeps on giving. After earning a pair of platinum plaques, a sold-out headlining tour, and an upcoming SNL debut performance, the TDE star received some major news on Tuesday (Nov. 28): She’s now a Grammy-nominated artist.

For the 2018 Grammy Awards, SZA is nominated in five categories — best new artist, best R&B performance, best rap/sung performance, best R&B song, and best urban contemporary album. After taking a moment to digest her newest feats, SZA reminisced about her growth from squatting on friends’ couches to earning awards in a lengthy message posted to Instagram on Wednesday (Nov. 29).

“I️ remember pretending to be vegan cause that’s all I️ could afford lol (chips avocado n salad mix ) I️ remember sleeping on everyone’s couch cause I missed the train AGAIN (thank yall for having me lol ),” she wrote. SZA recalled begging Top Dawg Entertainment’s co-president Punch to hire songwriters for CTRL because “I️ thought no one would ever like me the way I️ was. I️ remember crying cus I️ didn’t have any hits or a quantifiable ‘sound.’ I️ remember feeling like damn maybe I suck.”

Despite begging Punch to delay the album out of fear of being embarrassed, he ignored her request and released an album that at peaked at No. 3. on the Billboard 200 and spawned a pair of Platinum-certified singles. Now, she can’t contain her thankfulness:

“I️ dunno what to say cause dunno how to accept this is even happening to me lol ? I’ve never won anything in my life even until this week (THANK YOU SOULTRAIN AWARDS!!) it all just feels strange somehow BUT IM SO OVERWHELMINGLY GRATEFUL FOR THIS STRANGENESS!!” she continued. “I’m so in awe of Gods plan.. I just wanna live up to it. Thank you for listening to me.. thank you for understanding me.. thank u for bonding w my thoughts just the way they were. INFINITE GRATITUDE to the Recording Academy for this INCREDIBLE honor.”